The Curaçao e-Gaming Licensing Authority started licensing gambling back in 1993. Initially, the Caribbean regulator focused on quantity rather than quality, attracting businesses by promising low tax rates, no sales tax and no VAT. The licensing process back then was not considered to be very rigorous. The end result was damaging to Curaçao’s reputation. Many players did not have a great perception of Curaçaon operators.

The scenario started to change slowly over the years, with the regulator putting in place a tighter auditing process and more services. It still offers a simpler process when compared to other online gambling license regulators, and Curaçao can be obtained much faster. Which is why today, Curaçao e-Gaming is a major player when it comes to online casino licensing and associated services. In fact, some of the top online casinos that are trending right now operate under a Curaçao e-Gaming license. I've ranked them in a list, so go have a look right now.

The Curaçao e-Gaming License

Curaçao, a Caribbean island nation that is part of The Netherlands (and part of the Eurozone, but not an EU member state), was one of the first to offer online gaming licences as far back as 1993. At that time, it was doing this under the authority of the Curaçao Gaming Control Board.

Curaçao eGaming was formed in 1996 to supervise the integrity of the country's e-Gaming licensees. Curaçao eGaming was decentralised from the offline regulator Curaçao Gaming Control Board in 2002, and now offers one licence covering all gambling types. The licence is split into two parts:

• Master Licence – permission to run an online gaming company, as well as the option to offer sub-licences to other parties
• Sub-Licence - allows businesses the right to run an online gaming company only.

The licence allows companies to run:

• Online slots and scratch cards
• Online table games and poker rooms
• Live streaming casino games
• Online sports betting

The Curaçao e-Gaming license does not carry the market restrictions present in other online gambling licenses offered by other regulators. This, and the lower entry barriers are attractive to new companies as they allow them to start a gambling business without much red tape, offering personal dedicated servers and private cloud servers. If Curaçao e-Gaming issues licenses only to online casinos that have been audited. The licence guarantees that the casino operates fairly and securely. However, the casino is still responsible for its transactions and funds, and not the authority.

The Curaçao e-Gaming jurisdiction generally does not intervene between operators and players, giving it a poor reputation for customer service. In fact, several reviews on sites like Trust Pilot, mention this as being one of the weak points of the regulator. This has had a detrimental effect on players choosing to bet with companies based in Curaçao, as their wagers were not as protected as they would be if the online casino was based in a country with a more reputable licensing system and regulatory body.

Curaçao is trying to distance itself from its shady past by bringing in firmer regulations to protect players, while offering the same tax incentives and systems to attract new clients. The first steps towards this goal have already been taken, with the Curaçao eGaming Board creating new regulations in 2014 to manage bookmakers.

Curaçao eGaming seems to be on a path to once again become a pillar in the global iGaming industry. It has been actively making improvements to fix its damaged reputation, propelled not only by online reviews and opinion, but also by factors affecting the entire country. The islands, formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles, became a constituent state of the Kingdom of the Netherlands when the Antilles were dissolved in October 2010. This new change of identity seems to have been the driving force to help mend its online gaming status.

Betting on sports is also a strong market for Curaçao, with many bookmakers holding a licence on the island. Big names include ComeOn Sportsbook, Bet365, and 32Red Sportsbook. In addition, Curaçao is home to over a dozen physical casinos, such as the Breezes Curaçao Resort, Casino Royale, and the Marriott Emerald Casino. Most only offer slot machines, although a small number also feature poker rooms and table games.

How to Apply for a Curaçao eGaming License

The application process for a new Curaçao eGaming online casino license can be started directly on the website, or by contacting the board directly. The process is both simple and quick, especially when compared to other authorities. In fact, the whole application process only takes around a week!

You will be asked to have at hand relevant documentation that you will need to submit for auditing, and your company needs to be officially registered.